Call to check negative trends in politics

LAHORE: Socio-economic issues are growing due to the negative trends in the national politics and harshness of politicians' behaviours.

These views were expressed by the discussants in Jang Economic Session on "Code of Conduct of Election Politics – Expert’s Opinion’" The panelists were Kh Khawar Rasheed, Qamar Zaman Qureshi, Dewan Ghulam Mohiuddin, Qayyum Nizami, Ehtesham Rabbani and Rana Sajjad. The event was hosted by Sikandar Lodhi.

Kh Khawar Rasheed said that freezing the business activities in the name of sit-ins and protests should end, and if the situation persisted, the industries would close, revenue collection decline and unemployment increase. He said economy was growing after last general election but political instability had slowed down it. He said the government and military had controlled the terrorism to some extent, and now politicians should work for political stability. He said use of offensive language by the political leaders was negatively affecting the youth. "The country is in dire need of unity," he added.

Qamar Zaman Qureshi said that the current and former rulers and politicians claimed they rendered sacrifices for the country but they always prioritised their political agenda and personal motives. He said selfish politicians could not benefit the country, adding the issues could be resolved by strengthening the institutions. He said politicians used bad language in TV talk shows which was negatively affecting the youth and harming the image of the country globally. Dewan Ghulam Mohiuudin said overlooking the merit had increased trade deficit and affected the balance of trade. He said politics had become a business now without any fear of accountability that's why the commoners were not participating in election. He called for strict implementation of accountability laws for progress. He suggested the electronic media also air the programmes for civic awareness, agriculture and other issues instead of airing political rifts only.

Qayyum Nizami said that promotion of ethics was crucial for the public. He said strengthening the institutions and empowering public were necessary for better future of Pakistan. He said the code of conduct seemed to be nonexistent in Pakistan. He said ethics should not be overlooked in any situation. Strong implementation of ethics was required in journalism too, he added. EhteshamRabbani said that moral decline had affected society like corruption. He said politicians should avoid using offensive language against each other, otherwise, political situation would become more unstable. He said resolving the public issues should be top priority of the politicians. Rana Sajjad said that politicians intentionally use bad language against their rivals to please their voters and public. He said politicians should take care of ethics and social norms. "The media should not air anything against the code of ethics", he observed. He believed the rules would resolve this issue. Politicians should get political education, he added.